Shea Stadium in Movies: “The Rutles”

When people talk about great rock-n-roll mockumentaries, they always bring up “This is Spinal Tap.” No one ever talks about “The Rutles.” Well, they should, and not just because Shea Stadium has a cameo.

The 1978 TV movie “The Rutles: All You Need is Cash” tells the story of four young British boys who form a band and take the world by storm, a not-very veiled satire of The Beatles. Of course their famous performance at Shea Stadium is parodied.

Narrator Eric Idle made the trip to Queens (wearing a Brockabella!) to tape a stand-up outside Shea. Only the stadium is called Che Stadium, “named after the Cuban guerrilla fighter, Che Stadium.”

Then there is the famous shot of the band walking across the outfield on their way to the stage. It certainly looks like it could be Shea Stadium’s outfield.

Only it is not! A wider shot shows they are in a smaller stadium, likely an English soccer field. Too bad they didn’t film inside the real Shea.